Beale, three others sentenced for conspiring against federal judge

MINNEAPOLIS -- The founder and former CEO of the Comtrol Corp. of Maple Grove was sentenced to 48 months in prison for conspiring to prevent a federal judge from doing her job. The sentence is in addition to the 134 months Robert Beale received after he was convicted of tax evasion.

Prosecutors say Beale recruited three other men to help him avoid prosecution in that tax evasion case by threatening a judge and plotting to escape from custody.

Frederick Bond, 63, of Champlin and John Pelton, 67, of Stillwater were each sentenced to 24 months in prison and three years supervised release. Bond, Pelton, and Beale were all convicted after a five-day trial last October. Another man, Norman Pool, 43, of Blaine got three years probation after he pleaded guilty last September.

According to the FBI affidavit, the men held their own common law court, drew up warrants for the arrest of U.S. District Court Judge Ann Montgomery and delivered them to law enforcement officers. Authorities say the men were hoping to get Montgomery arrested.

The FBI affidavit said, Beale used a jail telephone to call the group and made threatening statements against Montgomery. During one call, he said, "God wants me to destroy the judge. That judge is evil. He wants me to get rid of her." In another call, Beale told the person on the other line that, "God wants me to take the judge out, that's what He wants me to do."

Montgomery presided over Beale's tax evasion trial in April 2008. He was found guilty of one count of felony conspiracy to defraud the U.S., five counts of tax evasion for tailing to pay personal income tax on more than $5 million in income and one count of failing to appear in federal court. Beale was sentenced to 134 months in prison.

Beale's latest sentence will be served in addition to his prison sentence for tax evasion.